Frank Glasgow Tinker

Frank Glasgow Tinker (July 14, 1909 – June 13, 1939) was an American volunteer fighter pilot for the Fuerzas Aéreas de la República Española (“Air Forces of the Spanish Republic”; FARE), during the Spanish Civil War.

Tinker was credited officially with shooting down eight enemy aircraft and was the highest-scoring American air ace of the war.[1] However, Tinker’s logbook suggests that he claimed 19 victories, which would make him the sixth-highest scoring pilot in FARE. That relatively few of his claims were officially recognized was due to the complex system of verifying air kills used by FARE and the financial incentive paid to mercenaries: many victories were not verifiable because the downed aircraft crashed in an enemy-held area and/or an incentive would not have to be paid.[2] In addition, Tinker and other pilots from Escuadrilla La Calle (“La Calle’s Squadron”), also known as 1ª Escuadrilla de Chatos (1st Chato Squadron”), shared a number of joint kills against Junkers Ju 52 bombers. He reported narrowly avoiding death at both the hands of enemy aviators and malfunctioning equipment.

He left a detailed record of his experiences as a fighter pilot for the Republicans in his memoir Some Still Live, published by Funk & Wagnalls Co in New York, 1938[3] and recently republished by The Clapton Press, London.[4]

Frank “Salty” Tinker was born in Kaplan, Louisiana, and grew up in DeWitt, Arkansas. In 1926, he joined the US Navy hoping to become a naval aviator. In 1933, he graduated from the US Naval Academy. In 1934, he was assigned to US Navy aviation and became a pilot of a reconnaissance floatplane of the USS San Francisco cruiser. Because of problems with alcohol and brawls, he was dismissed from the Navy.

Later in 1935, Tinker joined the crew of a Standard Oil tanker running from New York to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, as a third mate. By July 1936, he left his job with Standard Oil, and looked for a job as a pilot.

After the start of the Spanish Civil War, Tinker offered his service to a Republican side, reportedly because of his aversion to fascist regime of Benito Mussolini, who was helping the Spanish Nationalists. He negotiated a high salary of $1,500 monthly, and a premium of $1,000 for any aircraft he shot down. Under nom de guerre Francisco Gómez Trejo, he went to Spain via France.